England to rotate goalkeepers for Scotland friendly

Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale is expected to start in place of Jordan Pickford for England’s friendly with Scotland on Tuesday evening.

World football’s two oldest foes will meet at Hampden Park to mark the 150th anniversary of their first ever meeting.

Though Pickford has long been England’s starting goalkeeper, amassing 55 caps since making his debut in 2017, head coach Gareth Southgate is set to make a change between the sticks.

It is now being widely reported that Ramsdale will come into the starting lineup and is in line to earn just his fourth cap with the Three Lions. He will be selected ahead of Pickford and Crystal Palace’s Sam Johnstone.

Ramsdale made his senior England debut in a 10-0 win over San Marino in November 2021, though was included in their 26-player squad for the European Championships earlier that year. He was also part of the contingent that travelled to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup.

The 25-year-old was recently named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year for the 2022/23 season following a fine season with Arsenal. Reports have suggested manager Mikel Arteta could drop Ramsdale in place of summer signing David Raya in the next few weeks, however.

News of Ramsdale’s breakthrough into the starting lineup comes following Southgate’s comments that he is not seeking to rotate and experiment with his side during this friendly, claiming it would be ‘ridiculous’ to upset their balance.

“We’ve got to find the right balance of physical freshness – we’ve had a day less preparation – experience, finding out about some players, winning, playing well, the usual things that are expected of us with England, really,” he said.

“But the first thing is we can’t fiddle around with the team, because we’re playing a top-level side who will be at it full tilt. We’ve got to compete. We’ll get rolled over if we don’t.”